The unit - Commando d'élite

As of this writing, the best show on television that no one talks about. Is it easier to overlook military-themed shows, being as their viewership is made up of middle America? But The Unit is neither a gussied-up procedural (NCIS) nor a rousing commercial (Jag), and it betrays almost no political agenda. It keeps to these guys, their job, and their families, all facing challenges that are alternately far beyond and extremely similar to those of our own. Like most Mamet, it is characterized not so much by distinctive characters as it filled with plain ol' drama. The show is as clipped, professional, and dutiful as its characters— no 'special-episodes', no sweeps- month stunts.

In a refreshing change of pace from other current (and more-heralded) shows, it's not serialized; every episode does stand alone, though the show also rewards faithful viewership. I love me some 'Lost', but there's plenty to slog through while waiting for the good stuff. The Unit gives no such quarter; it may not enrapture or surprise, but you can count on it to do its job.

I quite enjoyed the first episode in this new series. One of the things i liked was the fact that they show the families and the impact on them as well as the fun and games that the men have. I look forward to the future episodes where they develop the characters. While I was not surprised by the plot line, I thought that it was time that more information about the worlds special forces was released to the public in a format to entertain as well as educate. While the production have taken some liberties to keep us entertained and interested, its better to have it on the Television than yet another aspect of military life ignored as if it doesn't exist. While the people who are in the special forces will probably spot numerous flaws, we, the public do not have their in-depth knowledge. Some of the public will complain because its not fully of 24/7 action, looks at more than death and actually might make us think.

Watch the series and enjoy it. I have and am going to continue to watch it.

I'm a big fan of Dennis Haysbert so I bought the first season having never seen the show before. The first episode had a couple of scenes that almost killed all my enthusiasm for it, but I hung with it; got into the characters and enjoyed the whole season. It' takes some getting used to watching the episodes cut back and forth to the soldiers on their missions and their wives back home; that just isn't how "war movies" are done my sexist old brain says. But while the action scenes are really well done the "home stories" are surprisingly compelling too. As someone who grew up on 'Combat", 'The Rat Patrol', 'Twelve O'Clock High' I am surprised I liked this new show as much as I did. Well worth purchasing the first season.

This is a very entertaining show. The writing is good, the characters are both interesting and multi-dimensional. The lighting and set design are very appropriate for a mainstream network series. Excellent use of steady-cam and "documentary style" camera work.

I respectfully disagree with some of the previous comments by my fellow veteran. I believe that he may not have had much contact with the spec ops community in his 10 year career.

We should remember that this is a television series- If the cameras rolled in the average combat spec ops unit, it *might* last a whole episode...*might*.

While the wives in this show do seem to be a very comely group, The same probably applies to the men- as is fitting for a cast of actors.

If anything, the actors seem a little young to be from the unit. The average age in Delta is over 30, minimum age to apply is 22. As far as out of shape, senior soldiers don't fit the 3% body fat runner look that many young garritroopers sport.

The tactics used by the actors would definitely be out of place even in an infantry unit- but I have trained with enough operators to know that they can look sloppy and distracted (unmilitary) a fraction of a second before they tear through the target. I saw one step into a room, draw, engage 5 targets, and holster in 3 seconds - Then almost get tossed off the course for not wearing a regulation helmet.

While the dialog is not what we would hear in the field (too many syllables and too few profanities), it is intended to help the viewer understand and experience the flow of tension and action- which I feel it dies well.

While the homes are officer and senior NCO grade, it is very similar to the newer housing at Ft. Bragg (Where the unit it most expressly not stationed).

This show needs to come back. Better than any of the reality nonsense